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Books : Leiths Cookery Bible
page 2 of 3
Rating: 
- Excelllent reference book
Of all the cookery books i have, this is one the one most often out on the table. It contains all the basics (e.g white sauce and , say, two types of tomato sauce) plus obvious staples which have just that little bit more flair e.g. a passable Beef Bourgignon. I agree with another reviewer that some of the recipes are old fashioned - except they are few and far between and it is easy to ignore those ones. I do not agree that it is patronising or school-mamish. The recipes are simply laid out and very easy to follow - especially if, like me, you often modify or combine recipe ideas depending on what ingredients you have. Incidentally, i have tried several rotten meat-ball recipes - most of which fail because the meatballs disintegrate in the pan. This book contains two very good (and easy) meatball recipes. Also some good (very easy, not as fiddly as Rick Stein) fish recipes (try the white fish with green herbs en papillote) - though if you happen to buy the Leiths Fish Bible there is quite a lot of double-up. The baked cod is pretty damned too. If you need a book which is stuffed full of recipes of all kinds...then this is the book for you.
Rating: - A reference masterpiece
"The only cookbook you'll ever need" says the cover, and it's a fair claim. OK, so there's not much in the way of photographs. This is not one of those Delia Smith volumes churned out annually. What you get is several hundred pages of detailed recipes on just about anything. Whether you're boiling an egg or stuffing a wild duck with pistachios, everything is here. That is not to say that this is some pretentious tome for dinner party catering. Those recipes are here, but where the Leith Bibles (there are three others in the series, including the faultless Fish Bible) score is in their everyday recipes: fish pie, roast gammon, tomato soup. Everything's been rigorously tested, and the results (at least for everything I've tried) are infallible. At home this book has had almost daily usage for the two years since I got hold of a copy. It cannot be recommended enough.
Rating:
- The tone may be off putting but the results are superb...
To all of us more accustomed to the chatty style of Delia or the myriad of other glossy cook books the style of this book is somewhat off putting. Not many pictures and, frankly, the tone of school mistress...
Get over that perception and you have a cook book that is a joy to use and learn from. The technique sections give the basics of what you need to know (yes, there are some that need practice). The recipes build on the techniques using a no nonsense approach that is easy to follow. The results are consisently superb.
Rating:
- This rather metropolitan manual is not for the uninitiated.
Despite claiming to be only cookbook you will ever need, I feel that although it is comprehensive in scope, it does take a lot for granted in terms of the ability of the beginner. Also I found the wine recommendations patronising in the extreme, and some of the recipes frankly archaic.
Rating: - A cookbook which tells you how and what to cook
The Leith's Cookery Bible is a superb book which not only gives recipies but also explains the anatomy of cookery. It explains which cuts of meat to be used through to what wine would best accompany the meal.
I would recommend it to anyone from beginer to enthusiast.
- Excelllent reference bookOf all the cookery books i have, this is one the one most often out on the table. It contains all the basics (e.g white sauce and , say, two types of tomato sauce) plus obvious staples which have just that little bit more flair e.g. a passable Beef Bourgignon. I agree with another reviewer that some of the recipes are old fashioned - except they are few and far between and it is easy to ignore those ones. I do not agree that it is patronising or school-mamish. The recipes are simply laid out and very easy to follow - especially if, like me, you often modify or combine recipe ideas depending on what ingredients you have. Incidentally, i have tried several rotten meat-ball recipes - most of which fail because the meatballs disintegrate in the pan. This book contains two very good (and easy) meatball recipes. Also some good (very easy, not as fiddly as Rick Stein) fish recipes (try the white fish with green herbs en papillote) - though if you happen to buy the Leiths Fish Bible there is quite a lot of double-up. The baked cod is pretty damned too. If you need a book which is stuffed full of recipes of all kinds...then this is the book for you.
Rating:
- A reference masterpiece"The only cookbook you'll ever need" says the cover, and it's a fair claim. OK, so there's not much in the way of photographs. This is not one of those Delia Smith volumes churned out annually. What you get is several hundred pages of detailed recipes on just about anything. Whether you're boiling an egg or stuffing a wild duck with pistachios, everything is here. That is not to say that this is some pretentious tome for dinner party catering. Those recipes are here, but where the Leith Bibles (there are three others in the series, including the faultless Fish Bible) score is in their everyday recipes: fish pie, roast gammon, tomato soup. Everything's been rigorously tested, and the results (at least for everything I've tried) are infallible. At home this book has had almost daily usage for the two years since I got hold of a copy. It cannot be recommended enough.
Rating:
- The tone may be off putting but the results are superb...To all of us more accustomed to the chatty style of Delia or the myriad of other glossy cook books the style of this book is somewhat off putting. Not many pictures and, frankly, the tone of school mistress...
Get over that perception and you have a cook book that is a joy to use and learn from. The technique sections give the basics of what you need to know (yes, there are some that need practice). The recipes build on the techniques using a no nonsense approach that is easy to follow. The results are consisently superb.
Rating:
- This rather metropolitan manual is not for the uninitiated.Despite claiming to be only cookbook you will ever need, I feel that although it is comprehensive in scope, it does take a lot for granted in terms of the ability of the beginner. Also I found the wine recommendations patronising in the extreme, and some of the recipes frankly archaic.
Rating:
- A cookbook which tells you how and what to cookThe Leith's Cookery Bible is a superb book which not only gives recipies but also explains the anatomy of cookery. It explains which cuts of meat to be used through to what wine would best accompany the meal.
I would recommend it to anyone from beginer to enthusiast.
